She Ain't Heavy, She's My Lover
by defyingnormalcy
Summary: "She often found herself wondering if it was reasonable to consider a lover's body home." Andrea Hobbs/Sharon Raydor, established couple. Written for kayryn because of reasons; many thanks to authorjazmyne for her beta.


She knew that something was wrong from the moment that she stepped into the Murder Room and spotted her lover standing wearily in the middle of well-organized chaos. The normal sparkle in Sharon's deep green eyes seemed faded, glossed over, and there was a pronounced tension in her jaw and in her back.

Just before Andrea could formally announce her presence, a loud growl, followed by muffled swearing, came from one of the interview rooms. Andrea observed as Sharon pinched the bridge of her nose and quietly requested that Lt. Flynn aid Det. Sanchez with calming down their latest and prime suspect. Flynn nodded his head solemnly and caught Andrea's eye as he walked past, the slight shake of his head clearly indicated, _It's been one of those days_, to her, confirming her fears.

Andrea took a deep breath and gripped the fine yet slightly worn leather of her briefcase, formerly her father's before his retirement some years ago, before making her way over to Sharon and offering her a curt nod of her head and a polite, "Captain," in acknowledgement.

The creases around Sharon's eyes seemed to soften when she registered Andrea's presence. "DDA Hobbs, thank you for coming on such short notice," she said, relief evident in her tone. "Our suspect is a little…volatile, so I would much rather prefer if you'd wait a moment for us to calm him down before you question him."

"Of course," Andrea said. "I won't be long. From what I could tell from the evidence that Sykes forwarded over to me, I think we've got this."

Sharon nodded her head absent-mindedly, and Andrea reached out a hand to gently connect with Sharon's forearm. Exhausted green eyes met Andrea's concerned gaze, and Sharon let out a self-depreciating sigh.

"We've got this," Andrea repeated gently.

Sharon nodded her head. "Okay," she said. "Okay," she repeated, truly taking in Andrea's words.

Anticipating her next objection, Andrea added, "Don't worry about the media. I'll be in and out of that interview room before Taylor can even work up an aggravated sweat and rant," she promised.

Sharon allowed the briefest of chuckles to escape her lips. "Thank you," she said. Her words carried with them a much deeper meaning, one that would have to wait until they were no longer within the confines of their professional lives to truly express.

"Can't let my Captain down," Andrea said; she lowered her voice so that those words would reach Sharon's ears only.

The barest of smiles graced Sharon's lips as she replied, "You never do." Even as she said the words, a pang of guilt struck her low in her belly.

Sharon's eyes fluttered open as she heard the door to her bathroom creak open. She looked down at the red blotches forming on her ribcage and silently cursed.

XXX

"Hey Honey, I thought a glass of-" Andrea froze in her tracks; the hand that gripped the glass of Sharon's favourite Chardonnay tightened around the thin glass stem with almost fatal force.

"I'm okay. I wasn't hiding it from you," Sharon hastily explained; her earlier guilt returned full-force. "I just needed some time to soak." The bruise was about the size of a small fist, and, given how deep the red of the skin was becoming, it would likely turn a deep blue, almost black, within the next day or two. The area was more than a little tender, though a quick check with Dr. Morales confirmed that the ribs were not fractured or broken.

Silently, Andrea placed the glass on the countertop before crouching down next to the tub. She placed her trembling hands on the edge of the tub to steady herself.

"Julio….he kept trying to get me alone today to talk to me. I kept brushing him off because I wanted to wrap things up and get home to you," she said, horrified. "This happened today, didn't it?"

Sharon shifted in the tub so that she could comfortably place her hands on top of Andrea's. "Julio and I were both interviewing Mr. Montero initially. He got agitated when we started putting pressure on him. Then he got violent and, in an attempt to flip the table onto us, shoved it into my ribs. Julio was a bit quicker to react and was on his feet the moment that Montero put his hands on the table. I wasn't so lucky, but I'm fine. Really, I swear that I got checked out right away."

Andrea bit her bottom lip and looked down at their hands. "You should have…," she paused and shook her head. "No, I don't want to tell you what to do…but dammit Sharon," Andrea said as she looked up into Sharon's eyes.

"I couldn't tell you there; it wasn't the right time nor the right place. And I didn't want to tell you when you were driving home in case-"

"I caused an accident by turning my car around and going back to kill that son of a-"

"Yes," Sharon said patiently, "that's one reason. But also, I needed for you to see that I was fine before I sat you down to tell you. I needed for you to see that there was no need to be worried."

Andrea cupped Sharon's cheek with one hand and brushed her lips against Sharon's forehead. "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't worry about you. There isn't a morning that goes by that I don't wonder as you pack your badge and gun if this is the last morning I'll get to wake up with you. There isn't an evening that goes by that I am not eternally grateful that I got to have you in my life for another day," she whispered fiercely.

Sharon gulped and nodded her head. Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes as she weighed Andrea's confession; it wasn't news to her, but knowing how often and how deeply Andrea worried about her safety never failed to amaze her.

Andrea's lips brushed over Sharon's forehead over and over, before moving down to capture her lips in a tender, bordering on desperate, kiss.

"I'm right here," Sharon promised against Andrea's lips. "It's going to take substantially more than an aggravated murder suspect to get rid of me."

"I might kill Julio for not grabbing me and just telling me," Andrea said, half in jest and half in all seriousness.

"You will kill no one. I do not want Provenza calling me for at least ten hours about another homicide," Sharon deadpanned.

Andrea opened her mouth to object, but then shut it wisely.

"I for one need to have a talk with Julio," Sharon sighed. "I appreciate his thoughtfulness, but this kind of conversation is one that _I_ want to have with you, as your partner. I don't like the idea of this," she placed a hand over Andrea's silk blouse, wetting the material, "being mediated by any of my officers."

Andrea nodded her understanding. "I know, but think for a moment if some nutjob went off in court, and I was injured, and I couldn't communicate with you…"

Sharon shook her head forcefully. "No. That's not happening," she insisted. Her hand gathered the fine material and tightened, drawing Andrea even closer.

"Our jobs are unpredictable. I _have_ been shot. And I survived. And you've been injured, more times than I think you want to admit to me," she said knowingly. "We can't change that. We'd be fundamentally different people if we tried. But I need to know if something has happened- your officers owe me at least that," she insisted.

Sharon hummed. "I know," she sighed.

Andrea extended her neck and kissed Sharon's forehead. Her lips lingered long enough that when she drew back, Sharon felt a profound absence at the loss of contact. "Okay. I want you to enjoy your bath. But I am taking the wine back," she said as she eased back onto her feet.

Sharon looked up at Andrea and smiled. "I'll be out in a bit, just want to soak a little longer. It's been a while since I treated myself to a soak," she said, scrunching her nose in that way that endeared her to Andrea all over again.

"Take your time," Andrea encouraged.

XXX

"Mmm. You smell good," Sharon sighed as she climbed carefully into bed and wrapped her arms around Andrea.

Andrea chuckled and placed her book and Sharon's borrowed glasses on the nightstand. She caught Sharon's disbelieving look and shrugged; one day she'd admit that she needed glasses of her own, but today was not that day. "As do you. Mmm. I like that bubble bath," she said as she happily accepted Sharon's sweet kisses.

Sharon smiled as she felt Andrea hold onto her a little tighter than normal. She knew that Andrea was still processing the day's events as best she could. "I'm okay, I promise," she repeated softly. She felt hot tears spill from Andrea's eyes onto her hair as well as Andrea's fierce nodding against her right shoulder.

"I know you are. I know. I'd never ask you to change professions, and I am so proud of you for what you've done with your career... but I swear Sharon, sometimes I really hate the fact that you're a cop," Andrea admitted.

Sharon chuckled into Andrea's shoulder. She lifted her head to litter Andrea's cheek with tiny, soft pecks until she felt Andrea's frown soften into a smile. "I know. Just like sometimes I really hate the fact - despite how proud I am of you - that you're such an ambitious prosecutor."

Andrea huffed. "At least I get shot at less," she tried.

Sharon kissed Andrea's cheek briefly before observing, "We're a pair aren't we?"

Andrea cupped Sharon's face and kissed her deeply, allowing every ounce of her love to flow from her body to Sharon's. "You're perfect, and what we have is the best thing to ever happen to me. I don't think that I would change anything about us even if I could," she whispered against Sharon's swollen lips.

"Same," Sharon confessed; she let out a breathless laugh and kissed Andrea again, refusing to separate from her lover until it became physically necessary. The thought that she came so close to never coming home to this patient, loving woman... Sharon kissed Andrea until her entire universe was reduced to the feel of her lover's skin, hands, lips, and tongue against her body.

When Andrea felt Sharon's arms begin to shake from exhaustion, she gently parted their lips and placed calming kisses along Sharon's cheeks and forehead. She felt Sharon's eyes flutter and her whole body slumped forward into Andrea's embrace. She could tell that Sharon was just done - the stress and length of the day had finally taken its toll on her. Andrea shifted her weight and guided them both to lie down; she was ever-mindful of Sharon's left side. "Is there a more comfortable position for you?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine like this," Sharon answered as she curled her left leg overtop Andrea's hip. Her left arm encircled Andrea's slim waist and she rested her head on Andrea's shoulder. "I'm actually quite perfect like this," she added as she wiggled against Andrea to wedge herself as close as physically possible.

Andrea gently rubbed Sharon's back, noting, as always, how soft and beautiful her lover's skin was. Andrea's whole body seemed to prickle with an overwhelming sense of homesickness anytime they parted. She often found herself wondering if it was reasonable to consider a lover's body home. Her heart and mind had juxtaposing positions on the matter of course, and would probably never meet halfway, but still, it was a spirited debate that they often had. Her fingertips played with the darker freckles on the top of Sharon's shoulders, causing tiny shivers to dance up and down not only Sharon's spine, but hers as well.

The gentle caresses of her lover's fingers were a sharp contrast to the dull ache that surrounded her left side; she didn't tell Andrea this, of course, for fear of worrying her even more. Sharon wondered though, if Andrea inherently just _knew_, for every brush of the blonde's fingertips seemed to sweep away the pain, leaving only soft, gentle pleasure to overwhelm her nerve endings.

"Going to fall asleep," Sharon murmured apologetically. It had been a long day and they'd barely had time together outside of work.

"Love you," Andrea responded. Her lips brushed the top of Sharon's head and her nose crinkled as the thick brunette waves tickled the sensitive skin. She grinned lovingly as Sharon's attempted reciprocation came out as a more of a muffled grunt than three fully formed words, but she certainly didn't begrudge her exhausted lover.

While the sound of those words leaving Sharon's lips never failed to envelope her with the sweetest sense of peace and joy, they were not what she needed tonight. Tonight, the vibrations of Sharon's beating heart, the gentle tickle of her breath, the warmth of her skin, - these blatant indications that she was very much alive and safely tucked away in their bed - that was enough. That's all that Andrea ever truly needed.


End file.
